It’s not unusual for a Buyer Agent to receive inquiries asking “what are your fees (rates/charges etc)?
Now this may seem a logical place to begin finding an agent, a bit like phoning around to get the best price on a set of new tyres for your car.
But this approach doesn’t even work well when you’re selling a property.
The best agent will not be the cheapest.
The best agents have skills, contacts, systems and expertise that the cheapest cannot provide (that’s why they’re cheaper), and will result in not only the best price for your property, but a smoother, less stressful ‘ride’ through the entire process.
They’ll be so good that you’ll want to tell your friends, when you boast about the price you got for the property.
When finding a Buyer Agent this Price-vs-Service nexus is even more important.
For most people, buying their first or next property, whether it’s a home or a rental, is a major financial commitment – often the biggest one in their life so far. It also has major personal and financial implications for the future.
In contrast, people who “do buyer agency” as a kind of side-hustle, typically have a transactional approach where the quicker they get a deal, the sooner they can get paid and move on to the next customer.
For such agents, there’s little or no consideration for the future ownership, or financial performance of the property.